Figure 1.

Diagramatic representation of the interactions between VE-cadherin and the catenins involved in AJs. P120-catenin binds to VE-cadherin near the membrane and plays an important role in regulating VE-cadherin turnover and junction integrity. β- and γ-catenin bind more distally and help secure the junction to the cytoskeleton through α-catenin. This illustration depicts the interactions that we were interested in for this study, but it does not show other known VE-cadherin associations, such as with vimentin, or any other associations that may occur within these junctions.